Page 33 - Explore Spring Summer 2019

After a day and a half of cruising our first port of call was Nouméa, A tip: book early for excursions on Lifou
New Caledonia, where we received an entertaining welcome from local
performers. On land we chose the popular motorised Tchou Tchou in the Loyalty Islands as there are limited
Train for an open-air guided tour of Nouméa. Although it was Sunday
and many places were closed, it was fascinating to travel around and numbers and you can’t purchase
learn about the island’s indigenous and French history while seeing the
city sights and the beachside suburbs where locals and tourists were on the day.
enjoying their Sunday.
Lifou in the Loyalty Islands was our next port of call and a personal The weather wasn’t in our favour and it was unsafe to go whitewater-rafting
highlight for me. I had been there before and stayed near the port in the on tyre tubes on the river, but we harnessed up and tackled one of the
village of Easo, but this time we did a tour (prebooking gave us priority to suspended rope bridges over the whitewater instead. This proved a bit of
disembark) and once ashore we went via bus to the most beautiful beach. an obstacle for some but I was proud of my seven-year old for doing it. It
Although the weather was threatening rain with dark clouds, it made the was one person at a time over the rope bridge and she was justly proud of
colours in the landscape stand out and the kids loved the soft white-sand herself. In the afternoon, because of the rain, we went to the Warwick Le
beach and snorkelling. Lagon Resort & Spa for lunch and a swim.
Despite a language barrier, the local Kanak villagers were welcoming and Following the final sea days back to Brisbane we had a finale, as a thank you
enjoyed sharing their culture and lifestyle. I was amazed at the structure to my niece, of hiring a car and staying at the Intercontinental Sanctuary
of their traditional huts that are very resilient to weather. Back at the port Cove Resort to experience Dreamworld theme park in Coomera. It was fun,
in the afternoon we enjoyed a visit to a nearby marine reserve which has but with 30-degree C. temperatures it was great that Whitewater World
crystal-clear water for snorkelling. The local kids came and joined in. A tip:
book early for Lifou excursions as there are limited numbers and you can’t water park is right next door. The Intercontinental also had a beautiful pool.
purchase on the day. Footnote: I passed my Cruise Masters course in January, having completed
Our final port of call was Port Vila in Vanuatu, where we were hosted by Eden the assignment and on-board modules. And of course cruising with P&O is a
on the River, a living farm and gardens run by a New Zealand family. Out of holiday where you can do as much or as little as you like, with good sleeps,
their love of gardening they have created a space for visitors to experience limited cell phone connectivity, well executed entertainment and friendly
local farm life and see and taste local produce. and attentive crew. I also can’t rate P&O Cruises’ kids clubs highly enough.

Elizabeth Sherry, Managing Director of helloworld Travel Mount Maunganui, combined an on-board Cruise Masters course
with an eight-night P&O cruise visiting New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

HELLOWORLD TRAVEL : EXPLORE : SPRING/SUMMER EDITION 31